


in small towns and larger skies

by catpoop



Series: Sheith Month 2017 [9]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Childhood Friends, Fluff, M/M, Platonic Relationships, SheithMonth2k17, Stargazing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-21
Updated: 2017-08-21
Packaged: 2018-12-18 10:36:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11872557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/catpoop/pseuds/catpoop
Summary: Sheith Month '17 - 14/8: Meteor ShowerThe stars are far, and the Garrison farther. But Keith can dream.





	in small towns and larger skies

**Author's Note:**

> back from sheith big bang  
> ok its still a mess but ill ... edit later...

To Keith, night skies have never appeared terrifying; looming. He’s clever enough to know that other children are afraid of the dark, and clever enough to sneak out from under his foster parents’ noses and out into the moonlight.

They have yet to catch him.

He makes for a small shadow, smaller in the nighttime when adults no longer crowd the streets and he’s free to hide in bushes when any adults do come passing by. And smaller still, when beside his best friend Shiro.

Shiro’s only three years his senior, lanky and finding himself at eleven, but somehow Keith’s head is at perfect armrest height. Of course, there come benefits with befriending the oldest kid he knows – his ‘parents’ never question what he’s up to with Shiro.

“I heard there’s going to be a meteor shower tonight,” Shiro casually mentions.

The space exploration pamphlet lies forgotten in Keith’s hands as he whips his head around to stare. “A _what_?”

“Meteor shower, dummy. Like shooting stars.”

“I know what a meteor shower is,” Keith sulks. He’s not stupid just because he hasn’t hit double digits yet, unlike Shiro’s wise confidence and extensive knowledge. “I’m not stupid, I read the –”

“I know, I know, the space encyclopaedia. And the Garrison pamphlets.” Shiro nods at the crinkled sheets of paper in Keith’s grip.

The pamphlets, plural, are a stack of cherished, glossy papers that Shiro keeps in his top drawer and only allows Keith to read with his permission. Describing each year of the Garrison’s accomplishments and each year of limited places, it’s easy to fall headfirst into imaginations of sitting proud in a cockpit, of zooming closer and closer to the stars.

“En-cyc-lo –” Keith mutters. “Whatever. Where is it? _When?_ ” Insanely detailed pictures on each well-read page of Shiro’s space … book are one thing, but seeing the heavens properly lit up are entirely another matter.

“To-night.” Excitement hinges on each syllable. “Ten, I think. Can you stay out that late?”

“O’course,” Keith dismisses with a wave of his hand. “Even later too. I’m not some baby.”

They’ve gone stargazing before, but it was more of sitting out in Shiro’s backyard watching the sun disappear in a muted orange glow. His mother had called them in for dinner before any _actual_ stars could appear.

Shiro looks relieved. “That’s good. Mum says okay but she wasn’t sure about you.” He leans back against his bed, staring up at the plastic stars on the ceiling in contemplation before turning a determined gaze on his younger friend. “Okay. Then we need to plan snacks. And a picnic blanket.”

“Snacks?” Keith frowns. “I won’t be able to see the meteors if you’re crunching too loud.”

“Yes you can,” Shiro assures him, and Keith agrees with a little reluctance. Snacks don’t really exist in his household, and especially not at 10pm. Shiro seems aware of this, focused only on ransacking his own kitchen for everything they’ll need and assuring Keith that he only needs to bring himself and his restless thirst for space.

“I can do that.” 

“Okay! Don’t be late or I’ll eat everything.” Brimming with excitement, Shiro reaches down to ruffle Keith’s hair – and Keith is too overjoyed to retaliate at the irritating gesture. He sprints back home, ready to act the perfect child so his parents will leave him alone sooner.

“Hey, kiddo.” A large hand comes down on his head, and Keith bristles. “What’cha been up to?”

“Nothing,” Keith bites. He ducks away, scampering to his room before anyone else can come asking about his day.

Dinner is more tasteless than usual, and combined with the way his gag reflex threatens to act up at every well-meaning question directed at him, Keith excuses himself the first chance he gets. Even if he was to feel hungry later, Shiro’s promised snacks and an outing.

Keith’s eyes the latch on his window again and again, itching to climb out into the twilight and run the ten minutes it takes to get to Shiro’s. But he’d promised, and his foster parents come to check at nine – and if he’s vanished …

He doesn’t dare think what will happen.

Squirming in his seat, Keith counts down the remaining minutes, scribbling in his sketchbook, leafing through a loaned pamphlet, and settling under the bed to count dust bunnies.

_Ten more minutes … then another ten … and another …_

By the time he’s exhausted his eyes from glancing at the clock so many times, Keith emerges from under his bed to crawl beneath the duvet, watching through slitted eyes and waiting for his door to open a sliver and click shut with an echoing finality. 

He counts, again, to a hundred, then twice that, until he’s confident enough to slip into his warmest clothes and leap out the window. From there, Shiro’s house is an easy path forwards, one he takes at a brisk run until he can spot the familiar picket fence and overflowing flowerpots.

“Shiro!” Keith raps on the door with cold knuckles, staring at the locked entrance until Shiro’s mother opens up. 

“Hey, Keith! Come in, come in – Shiro’s been waiting.”

Waiting, even though he’s technically half an hour early. Excitement splits Keith’s face in two and he follows her, to where Shiro is sat in the living room, inspecting a picnic blanket.

“Keith!” He waves a lanky arm. “Good, you’re here early. That means we can start picnicking now.”

“Don’t eat too much, boys.” His mother chastises, but it’s with a friendly smile that she lets them out into the backyard and leaves them to their own devices.

Keith eyes the bulging backpack crammed with food. “Here, spread the blanket out.” To be honest, it’s a little chilly outside, and Keith kind of wants to wrap himself up in fabric, but he does as Shiro says, helping the older boy lay the material flat and settling heavily beside him.

“When is it going to happen?”

“Soon, I think.” SHiro checks his watch, an impressive looking thing that Keith’s always envied. He’ll get one when he’s older, when he’s scraped together more money. 

“Okay.”

Conversation soon lies forgotten as Shiro tears open a packet of mini cookies. Keith nibbles on something crumbly and chocolate-tasting, craning his neck to look skywards.

Despite the dim glow of streetlights scattered around the neighbourhood, he can see a smattering of stars; can name all the constellations after studying the pages of maps in Shiro’s space book. Apparently he needs to know, to get past the Garrison’s rigorous tests, though neither of them know anyone actually attending the Galaxy Garrison.

And try as he might, Keith can’t ignore the decade-old dates printed on their pamphlets, the glossy pictures preserving years they’ve never seen.

But the stars look nearer in the night sky, and so does the distant institution.

“Can you see anything?” Keith nudges the prone body beside him, and Shiro hums. “Do I need to lie down to see better?”

“S’more comfortable.”

Nodding, Keith squirms to position himself next to Shiro, eyes opening wide to take in the expanse of the dark skies.

Down here, with only the sky above him, Keith imagines he’s floating, untethered from the neighbourhood they’re in, from Shiro’s mother peeking out at them through the window, and the cat that scampers past his feet.

Suddenly – he’s yanked out of his drifting when an insistent arm nudges his side. “Look – Look!” 

And he sees it: one of the pinpricks of light shifting out of place, veering on a diagonal path before bursting into disappearance. Keith gapes.

“Did you see that! Woah –” Shiro shakes with excitement beside him and all Keith can respond with is a stunned nod.

He finds the words in his throat once the skies still. “I’m gonna – I’m gonna go see one of those up close one day.”

“Uhuh?” Shiro turns to peer at him, grey eyes dimly illuminated by the lights behind them.

“Yeah, I’m gonna –” Keith stretches both arms upwards, “– gonna get into the Garrison, and fly a ship right next to those meteors.”

He can see it already; massive boulders backlit by the fiery trails behind them, and him, suspended in space.

“Really?” Shiro’s voice is quietly hopeful. “But I heard it’s really far, and only the best can get in.”

Keith banishes the last of his childish doubts. “I’ll just become the best; don’t worry.”

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading <3
> 
> @swummeng-geys.tumblr.com  
> twitter: @hashtag_yikes


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